Unbreakable
by PCGirl
Summary: Sequel to Stronger than Stone. When unexpected people return to Llanview John and Natalie's marriage and lives are put to the test. Jolie.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: All characters are property of ABC/Disney. I'm using them for my enjoyment-hope you will to and put them back when finished. ;)

A/N: Usually I can tell you a specific scene that get the muse to write a story. This one doesn't really have that. When Nora came back on GH last time she mentioned something that made me want to branch off of that. Hope ya'll enjoy this-I've had fun writing it so far. :) Until next time-PCGirl.

* * *

John sat in the chair with his head in his hands. The past week had been rough, and he wondered if it was going to get easier any time soon. He had to laugh-life with Natalie was never easy. There were more hills and detours in their relationship that some interstates, but he knew she was always the destination. And she still was-this hadn't changed anything, if it did it just made him want her more.

Hearing footsteps near him he looked up and gave a slight smile to Jessica-she looked just as tired as him, "How is she?"

"Angry. Wants to know where he is. I lied and said I didn't know," she said as she sat down in a chair kitty corner from him. "She tried to say that I should know what this feels like-compare this to Antonio and Nash. And I guess in a way it is."

"You aren't helping me feel good about the end result in all of this, Jess."

"Natalie's going to pick you. She always does, doesn't she?" she asked and then was quiet until he looked her in the eye and gave a nod in response. "You ready to see her?"

"Honestly, I'm not sure," he said as he stood up and paced the visiting area of Saint Anne's. "Not long after I came home there was a night we stayed up talking about this whole process-and Natalie explained how she didn't want me here the first time because she thought it would give her more power to stay in control. What if that's still the case? What if me being here does nothing but keep her in control and Natalie tucked away in some recess of her mind?"

Jessica looked up to the man that she knew had held her sister's heart for so long and could tell how conflicted he was, "It was hard when I had to go toe to toe with her before. When I had to fess up and ask for forgiveness for letting Tess out to kill Natalie. But I got through it with Tricia and you can too."

"What do I say to her to make her give in to doing the integration again?"

"She didn't choose to come out this time, John. Remind her that. Remind her that you and Natalie were having your happily ever after."

"But she thinks she can get that happily ever after with him."

She couldn't help but laugh, "For over ten years I've watched you time after time go against psychopaths-why would you let an alter scare you away from what you really want?" John was silent again so she stood up and patted him on the shoulder, "I'm going to call Mom and Dad and check on the kids. Just remember what I said when all this started-when you look down deep you'll see a lot of our Natalie."

* * *

_One Month Before_

"Now that wasn't too bad, was it?" said Natalie quietly as she walked out of the pediatrician's office at the hospital holding her four-month-old. Running a hand over the strawberry blonde locks she kissed her on the side of the head, "I know-shots suck, but you'll be ok," she spoke and saw someone walk around the corner just now. She couldn't but let the growl out of having to see that woman walking around free and her mind went back to the news John had given her the month before.

_Hearing the front door open Natalie walked from the kitchen and out to the living room to see John coming in and shutting the door behind him, "Hey-you don't usually come home for lunch. Everything ok?"_

_"Yeah-where's Riley?" he asked, surprised that she wasn't in Natalie's arms._

_"Upstairs asleep. What's going on?" she asked as she watched him come to terms with something he needed to tell her._

_"This morning Patrick Thornhart and Marty Saybrooke walked into the police station."_

_"Oh, that's nice," she said as she tried to keep herself calm at the thought of the woman being back in town. "Is she down in holding now?"_

_"No."_

_"You didn't send her to Statesville already, did you?"_

_"We let her go, Natalie."_

_"What?" she yelled. "The woman threw me off a building-she nearly killed Kelly in your hotel room! She kidnapped our son, not to mentioned changed his paternity test results. Why the hell would you let her go?"_

_"Can you please come sit down," he said calmly as he sat down on the couch himself. He knew this was going to be a tough conversation-that's why after talking it over with Bo he'd come home for the day to tell Natalie and smooth things over between the two of them._

_"No, I will not sit down," she said as she stood in front of the fireplace with her arms crossed ready to attack._

_"Apparently, she's been under care of a psychiatrist the whole time she's been with Patrick."_

_"Did she kill them too?" snarked Natalie with a raised eyebrow._

_"Will you let me finish?" he asked, and when he got silence in response he continued. "She was found to be under a severe psychological break. She knows one hundred percent exactly what she did and why it was wrong on all counts. This is all documented in paperwork from the shrink that's care she has been under. Before you ask-yes, I already verified the legitimacy of the paperwork and the shrink. My entire morning has been doing that and spending time with Nora and a couple other ADA's."_

_"And?"_

_"We've decided at this time not to prosecute."_

_Natalie let out a roar of laughter, "Are you kidding me?"_

_"There are stipulations, if it helps."_

_"Not really but go on."_

_"She cannot practice any psychiatry in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. She is to stay away from you and the kids. If she does anything seen as a threat to your lives or well-being the charges from before will be brought up. And there will be no leniency given."_

_"John, I know you two shared a child, but you seriously can't be ok with this. With them living here and her being free to do whatever she pleases."_

_"No, I'd rather they be living anywhere else on this earth than here. And whatever I may have felt for her disappeared that night," he said as he got up and put his arms around her. "You are one of the victims in this case, and I hate this agreement. But I'm going to protect you and our family with my last breath," he said as he leaned down to kiss her. The kiss was soon broken when a baby's cry filled the room. "She has the worst timing."_

_Natalie laughed and started for the stairs, "Yeah, she does."_

So far Natalie and Marty had seen each other in passing around town, but usually it was with Patrick in tow and the man seemed to always steer Marty away from her. Sighing at the flashbacks of the roof and then the fear that she'd taken off with Liam she gave Riley a kiss on the temple, "Come on sweetie. Let's drop you off at Grandma Viki's for a bit. Mama needs to go to work for a bit."

* * *

John closed the file and put it on the stack of ones to take back out front-he looked at the picture on his desk and couldn't help but smile. It was taken in the hospital with Natalie holding their newborn daughter. Her's and John's eyes were locked onto each other while Liam was leaning over John and looking down at his little sister.

Natalie hated that picture, said she looked awful, but he couldn't think of a more beautiful sight than his family. He hadn't known this was what he wanted until it was in front of him, but he couldn't think of anything better.

The ringing of his office phone pulled him back to the present, "McBain."

"John-hey," said Oliver as he scratched the back of his head while standing on the side of the road.

"Fish? Where are you?" he asked, taking note of the background noise.

"Kyle and I had taken Sierra Rose up the mountain for a picnic. On the way back we saw a car pulled over with its hazards on and stopped to see if we could be of assistance."

"Ok?" he asked and could hear Fish talking, though it sounded like he had his hand over the receiver. "Fish?"

"Sorry, I'm here. Do you know where Natalie is?"

"Why? Who is it?" he asked as he got up and began to grab his cell phone to slip in his pocket.

"It's Jared."


	2. Chapter 2

John dropped back into his chair, "What do you mean it's Jared?"

"I'm looking at him John-he's sitting behind the wheel of a car and insistent that he needs to get to his wife, Natalie Banks. I don't have a fingerprint scanner with me for verification."

John looked up to see the door open and waved Bo into the office, "Ok-well, he's going to need to be checked out at the hospital so call for an ambulance. Keep your eyes on him or his hospital room door at all times. I'll grab Price and have him bring you a fingerprint scanner."

"He's getting angry with Kyle about not using his phone to call Natalie."

"Lie and tell him she's on the way. I'll worry about my-wife," he paused at the last word at realizing if this was truly Jared Banks they weren't married after all.

Hanging up the phone he rubbed his face before looking back at his friend and Natalie's uncle.

"You look like you just saw a ghost, John. What did I walk in on?"

John stood up and locked the door closer to his desk and motioned for Bo to do the same with the other door-he knew Natalie was coming in late after a checkup with Riley and the last thing he needed was her walking in on this mid-conversation, "Fish stopped for a possible car accident on the side of the road. It's Jared."

Bo sat down in the chair across from John, "What do you mean that it's Jared?"

"Fish says it looks just like him-and he's asking for his wife. Natalie Banks."

"Where's Natalie?"

"Riley had a checkup so Natalie was coming in late. She was going to stop by here first before going to the lab," he said as there was a knock on the side door and they both turned to see Natalie on the other side.

Walking over he opened the door and leaned down for a quick kiss, "Hey."

"Hey. Am I interrupting something?" she asked, seeing a look go between the two men.

"No," said Bo, as he stood up and motioned for Natalie to take the seat. Normally he stayed out of their relationship at work but felt like both his friend and his niece needed some help to navigate this.

"Ok," she said slowly. "Ya'll are starting to worry me."

John rubbed his face before speaking, "Fish and Kyle came across a car and thought the driver was in distress. He was fine."

"Who was it? It's not Dad, is it?" she asked as she looked over at her Uncle. "One of you two say something now," she spoke as her eyes filled with tears as the men in her life flashed through her mind.

Bo looked over at John and could tell he couldn't say it, "Honey, he says he's Jared."

Natalie jumped up and backed herself away from both of them, holding her hand up as she kept looking between the two, "No, no. That's not possible. I saw him die in front of me back in Napa. This wasn't where we never recovered to body or too burned for identification. He was dead! He was cold!" she yelled as John came over and took her in his arms, holding her tight.

"I know," he said softly into her hair. "We're going to get to the bottom of this," he said as he heard the other door shut and looked through the window to see Bo giving orders to Price. "Bo is sending Price to the hospital with a fingerprint scanner."

"This is crazy. Where has he been? Do you think Mitch was holding him? It's been what-four years?" she tried to do the math as she pulled out of John's hold and wiped her eyes.

"I don't know. He's asking for you."

"He is?" she said, unsure how to respond to that.

John nodded, "I don't want you going anywhere near him until we know for sure."

"Yeah, of course," she said as she walked around the office a bit and then saw the light reflect off her ring. Looking back at John she felt her eyes fill with tears. "He's my husband, John."

John took the few steps to her and took her left hand, studying the ring before kissing her hand and pulling her back into a hug, "This changes nothing. I still love you. I'll still fight for you with every breath. Remember-above all others-."

"You belong with me," she finished, pushing back a bit so she could look up into his eyes and then kissing him softly.

* * *

John walked off the hospital elevator holding Natalie's hand tightly. They'd waited until they got a match on fingerprints before heading over. He looked at Natalie and could see the questions going through her mind-Is this real? How could this be happening? Why now? He was wondering the same thing as they reached the door that an officer was standing outside of.

"I'll take it from here," he nodded and watched the young man walk away.

"Can we do this my way?" asked Natalie, knowing the cop in John would want to take the lead, but also that he would lean more on the railroading Jared's reappearance when she really just wanted to see for herself that he was alive and find out exactly what kept him away for so long.

John could see the pleading in her eyes and pushed a lock of hair out of her face, "Yeah, but you aren't going in there alone."

"I'm never alone with you by my side," she smiled and leaned up to kiss him before taking one last breath and opening the door.

"Sparky," smiled Jared and immediately pulled Natalie into a tight hug. "God, I've missed you," he whispered into her hair and kissed the top of her head.

Natalie pulled away and wiped the tears that were falling, "How is this possible Jared? I watched you die-the machines went off. You were so cold," she finished, shaking and as much as she wanted John's comfort right now, she hoped he would continue to let her lead this quasi-interrogation.

"I remember lying there on the stretcher talking with you," he said as he touched her hair and Natalie felt a wave of nostalgia come over her.

_"I'm sorry I didn't tell you everything. I just wanted to protect my dad. I thought I could handle it._

_"I know. No, it's okay. Just tell me next time, you better promise me that you come to me first, you hear me?"_

_"I don't think there's gonna be a next time. I'm so cold."_

"And then when I woke up, I was in this room, strapped to a gurney. I kept asking for you, but nobody would tell me what was going on. They said they were waiting on instructions from The Messenger. I was held prisoner by them for four years while they waited."

Natalie turned back and looked at John, getting the confirmation they needed that Mitch was behind this. "The Messenger was Mitch Lawrence. Mitch did this-he kept you from me. I'm so sorry, Jared. If I had thought you were alive, I would have found you."

"It's ok," he said as he took her hands in his and held them together. "I fought my way back to you-that's all that matters."

"No, it's not," she said as she pulled her hands away and took a step backwards towards John. "I moved on, Jared. I have a family now," she said and felt John's hand go on her shoulder as almost a gloat to the other man.

"With him," he laughed as he pointed to John. Even though she wouldn't turn to look at him Natalie could feel John giving the other man a smirk. "Of course, it's with him-he turned you against me before just so he could get you back."

"It wasn't like that, Jared."

"Oh, like hell it wasn't."

"Believe what you want to, Jared. But I never wanted Natalie to mourn another husband-especially because of something I may have done," spoke John. He'd always felt some small amount of guilt that he was so focused on wanting Jared to be guilty back then that he didn't take the opportunity to look at all the possibilities before Mitch got both Jessica and Natalie away from Llanview and to Napa alone.

Jared made a snorting noise and rubbed his face, "Whatever. Do you know when I can leave?"

"You are more than welcome to leave and never come back for all I care," snarked John and watched as Natalie turned and gave him a look that he knew too well.

"Are you going to be ok, Jared?" she asked, sympathy showing in her eyes for what all he'd gone through.

"I'll be fine, Sparky," he said as he grabbed her hand and giving it a squeeze before leaving the room.

Natalie watched him leave and walked over to the bed and sat down on the edge, "Wow. It's really him."

John just nodded and let Natalie process it all. That Mitch was behind this didn't surprise him-the man had always seemed to enjoy taunting Viki, Jessica, and Natalie. This was just one last hurrah to throw in her face, years after she had killed him herself. He wanted to talk with Jared later-see if he could tell him where he'd been held and then maybe they could find some justice for the last of Mitch's disciples. "You ok?"

Natalie shook her head, unsure how to answer that, "Take me home, John."

He smiled at her-she was somewhere between being her strong self and breaking down. The shock hadn't worn off yet, but he knew he'd be there each step of the way.

* * *

Jared walked into the Angel Square Hotel to get a room for the night. He should have known she would move on-it had been four years. What was he expecting? Her to see him and go running into his arms? No, that was foolish and naive of him to think.

But why did it have to be John McBain? He shouldn't be surprised-he'd seen the looks between them before. Felt the chemistry they still had for each other. He thought maybe his and Natalie's love was stronger and deeper than John's-he guessed wrong.

"Roxy, you around?" he hollered as he leaned onto the counter and rang the bell.

"Yeah, I'm coming," she said as she walked out of the office and froze at him. "Jared?"

"Hey Rox," he smiled. "No time long see."

"Wow. Seriously. Have you seen Nattie yet?"

"Yeah, and apparently her and McBain are a thing again?"

"Oh yeah, they've had their ups and downs since you've been gone, but it's for real now. They said 'I do' and everything to each other about five months before Riley was born."

"They have a kid together?"

"Two. Liam and Riley. I love those two little munchkins. Want to see a picture?" she beamed.

"No, I'm good. Listen, can I get a room?"

"Sure," she said as she pulled out the application and handed it over to him.

"You know-if you'd come back earlier you probably would still have had a shot with her. Especially this last break they had."

Jared began to tell Roxy he didn't want to know, but he stopped when he heard what she said next.

"Yeah, apparently Nat went splitsy like Jess and Vick when she was a kid because of me. Not as bad as theirs, but still-her alter, Tricia, loves you. And she would have picked you over John in a heartbeat."

Jared didn't say anything else as he finished the paperwork and got the key from Roxy. He wasn't going to give up on winning Natalie over-and apparently there was some part of her that would pick him over McBain. He just had to find out how to get to it.

* * *

John walked into the bedroom and smiled at the sight-Natalie sitting there in the rocker nursing their daughter. He knew earlier had been tiring on Natalie and all she wanted to do afterwards was get to her children and hold them. He'd felt the same way and had just spent the last twenty minutes watching Liam sleep. Walking over to her he placed a kiss on the top of her head and ran his hand over Riley's strawberry blonde hair, "How are you feeling?"

"Tired," she said, not taking her eyes off of her daughter.

"It was a long day-in more ways than one," he said as he went to put his shoes in the closet and walked back out. "You want to talk about any of it? About Jared?"

Natalie let out a deep breath she hadn't realized she was holding, "I can't believe he's alive. I never felt it. With you something kept telling me you were out there. That you hadn't left me alone. But I just figured that was because Bo and Michael wouldn't let me see your body. Said it was better to remember you how you were alive. Even with Cristian there was something in the back of mine mind. But Jared," she stopped and shook her head, "I watched him take what I thought was his last breath. I heard the monitors start screeching at me that there was no heartbeat."

She paused for a few moments as Riley unlatched and she moved her to her shoulder and began rubbing her back to get her to burp, "I wonder what would have happened if he'd been here this whole time. Would you and I have gotten together in time for Liam to be here?"

John didn't say anything as he heard the soft noise come out of Riley and then took her from Natalie before holding her close and bouncing her in his arms as she began to fall asleep, "I want to think so because I couldn't imagine a world without him in it."

"You're right," she said as she stood up and walked over to him and placed herself up against his back. "You know though-Tricia would have still been around. She would have fought to stay with Jared."

"And I would have fought her," he said as he laid Riley in the bassinette next to the bed. Turning around he took Natalie in his arms and covered his mouth with hers. Pulling out a few seconds later he saw a look in her eyes that he always loved seeing. "Once I got my head out of my ass and realized you were it for me, I wouldn't have stopped. And nothing is going to keep our family apart now. I promise you."


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Sorry for the delay-I was struggling with the last bit of this story. Next part should be quicker. Until next time-PCGirl.

* * *

"Come in," said John as he heard a knock on the door and watched Jared walk in.

"Roxy left me a message you wanted to talk?"

John leaned back in his chair, twirling his pen in his hand. He'd been trying to pretend the sudden reappearance hadn't shook him, but the pull of the mystery and how it was affecting his family was too great, "Yeah, you've been back in town a week and I thought there were a few things we should go over."

"Like what?"

"I wanted to find out what details you knew about your captors? Where you were held? Were you moved at all? You know-things like that."

Jared sat down in the chair in front of John's desk, "There really isn't much to say. At first, they confined me to a hospital-like room while I recovered from the bullet wound. They kept saying they were waiting on word from the Messenger on the next move. About four months from there they began to give me a little more freedom on where I could go."

John nodded, it matched the timeline from Jared's death to Mitch's arrest up on Llantano Mountain, "Were you able to befriend anyone? Get the opportunity to leave the grounds?"

"No, nothing. They were pretty strong in their convictions that they were not to do anything without Mitch's direction."

"Mitch has been dead for two years though. What were they waiting for? A sign from beyond the grave?"

Jared laughed at John's phrasing, "I guess so. About a month ago I started making a plan. Keeping track of their movements. I was able to make my escape and slowly made my way back here."

"Why now? Why wait so long to finally come back?"

"I wanted to get back to my wife-start the life we had dreamt of and talked about."

John ignored the wife jab-he knew that legally Natalie was still married to Jared, but in his heart her last name was still McBain. "What were you planning on coming back to find with Natalie? That she had been single and true to your vows this whole time, Jared? She's young-she's beautiful-."

"And she's yours," he said with a glare.

"Why yes she is," spoke John, unable to keep the smile off his face as he looked at the picture on his desk.

Jared stood up and walked towards the door, "You would like nothing more than for me to just step aside, wouldn't you?"

"It'd be nice," he said with a shrug.

"Not going to happen-I'm going to fight for my wife. How about you?"

"Always," he said as he stood up as well as Jared walked out of the room and shut the door behind him.

* * *

Natalie walked into John's office and saw him working away at the computer, lost in thought, "Hey."

"Hey," he smiled and paused for a moment to look at her. "What's that?" he asked, nodding to the paperwork in his hand.

"Oh, the forensics report from the robbery on 11th. Do you have the folder? I'll just put it in there until you are ready to look at it."

"Yeah, thanks. It's in this stack over here," he said as he tapped the top folder and went back to the computer.

"There's not much really-just a few fibers and-," she stopped as she made it to a folder that was labeled _Jared Banks_. "What is this?" she questioned and set the report down to the side.

"He came by and gave me a statement on his captivity," said John as he leaned back in the chair and watched her reading over the report. He braced as she flipped the page and read his own personal notes.

"You think he's lying?"

John shrugged, "Possibly."

"And what would his reasoning be for lying where he's been for the last four years? For putting me through having to mourn a man I loved again," she said as her eyes filled with tears for losing both Cris and John for what she thought was forever.

"I don't know," he shrugged. "Hey-I may be overstepping bounds, but I went ahead and brought up the divorce."

"You did?"

"I mean, unless you want to stay Mrs. Banks forever," he said as he stood up and walked towards her. "And if that's the case I think we need to have a serious discussion," he said as he pushed her hair behind her ear.

Natalie felt the butterflies in her stomach that always occurred when he looked at her like that. Bringing his mouth down to hers the simple kiss turned into something filled with more heat than either had expected. Pulling out she swallowed as she looked at him, his blue eyes filled with a want that couldn't be fulfilled at the moment, "All I wanted for so long was to be Mrs. McBain. I'm not giving it up any time soon."

"Glad to hear it, because I've enjoyed married life so far," he said as he gave her a quick kiss and put distance between them or else they'd never get anything else done today.

Natalie smiled at him walking away, thinking the same exact thing as him. She hoped that feeling would always be there, "I'm going to go back to the lab-I'll see you at home?"

"Yeah," he said and took his seat back in his chair. "Natalie?" he called just as she began to open the door.

"Yeah?"

John wasn't sure why he felt the need to say it just now-she already knew it. Hell-she knew it long before he was even ready to admit it, "I love you."

"I love you too," she smiled and left the office.

* * *

Jared Banks sat on the stool in the smoky bar-his earlier run in with McBain had pissed him off. To think he'd just step away from the future he'd planned for with Natalie. He didn't go through everything he did over the last four years to do that. And he knew if he could get her to remember what all they went through-what all dreams they had before she'd be with him.

It seemed like nobody was on his side-even when he reached out to his dad to tell him he was alive he hinted at letting Natalie go. That she had moved on and he needed to figure out how to do that as well. But that wasn't an option.

He'd done some research-looked up old news articles that had mention of Natalie and her life from the past four years. He saw a name pop up a few times and thought this was his best shot at getting his wife back.

"I got your message," said Marty as she pulled onto the chair next to him. "I was surprised to hear from a dead guy."

"Yeah, well the rumors of my death were greatly exaggerated thanks to Mitch Lawrence."

Marty scoffed at the name, "Yeah, so what do you need me for?"

"I need you to bring Tricia back."

"Tricia?"

"Natalie's alter."

She laughed, "First off-you can't just bring an alter back. And why would you want to put Natalie through that anyways?"

"Natalie says she's moved on-she's with John and has a family with him. But Roxy-she was babbling like always and mentioned how it's a good thing Tricia wasn't around anymore. Apparently, this alter of hers loves me. So, I figure if I can just get the alter to come out maybe she can get Natalie to remember her love for me."

"I'm not allowed to practice in Pennsylvania. And even if I could it goes against the oath I gave when I became a doctor."

"But you think there's a chance you can do this?"

Marty shook her head at him ignoring the blatant problem with his request, "Possibly. And it's possible that it doesn't work. It's not just the oath I made as a doctor. I also made a promise to my husband when we came back to Llanview. And that was to stay as far away from Natalie as possible."

"I read about Cole. I read how he went to prison for killing a man that deserved it. How could John just do that? How could he say he cared for both of you and then let him be put away like that?

"I'm sure he said he was just doing his job-that his hands were tied. But were they really? I mean you lost everything and what did he lose-a few months with his family? Doesn't really sound fair to me," he said as he stood up and threw money on the bar to cover his tab before writing his number on a napkin and sliding it over to Marty then walking away.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Sorry this is being so slow on this one. I'm enjoying writing it-not sure what the hold up is. Next chapter is pretty much complete-shouldn't be too long. Until next time-PCGirl.

* * *

Natalie woke slowly, feeling his strong arms wrapped around her and couldn't help but smile. Rolling over she saw those clear blue eyes looking back at her before they closed, and he pulled her into a deep kiss.

"Your daughter slept through the night," she whispered after the kiss ended.

"Good-maybe she'll sleep a little longer," he smirked as he rolled over on top of her and pressed his body against hers. The moment was short lived as there was movement and a whimper from the bassinet. "Seriously?" he laughed between kisses.

"Maybe we can start working on her sleeping in her room at night now?" suggested Natalie.

"Sounds like a plan," spoke John, giving her one last kiss before rolling off Natalie and going to pick up his daughter. "Good morning, sweetheart," he said with a soft voice as he scooped her up and went to sit on Natalie's side of the bed. "Mommy says you slept all night," he said and got a coo out of her as a response. Passing her to Natalie he gave her a kiss on both of their foreheads before getting ready for the day.

Walking out of the closet he could tell that even with a full night's sleep Natalie was still tired, "Hey. Why don't you take the day off?"

She shook her head, "I'm ok-besides I've got open cases at the station."

"There's nothing pressing, I promise," he said as he came over and gave her a deep kiss. "I'm going to go get Liam ready for preschool and drop him off. I want you to take your time-maybe if Jess isn't busy you two can have a girl's afternoon. You deserve it, Natalie."

* * *

"Thank you for meeting me," said Jared as he walked back to the coffee shop table where Natalie was sitting holding two cups of coffee.

""I'm glad to," she said with a smile, as she took a sip of hers.

"Listen-the reason I wanted to see you, Sparky-."

"Please don't call me that," she said as she cut him off and the let out a sigh. "I'm glad you are alive Jared-and I want you to be happy. And you are going to find happiness again, but it's not going to be me."

"So what-I'm just supposed to walk away from what I dreamed about for four years? You are what kept me going during that time Natalie. Coming back to you and starting our family. Don't you remember the dreams we had?"

"I do-and I still want you to experience all those dreams, Jared."

"Just not with you?"

"I'm sorry," she said, sympathetically.

"Was what we had real, Natalie? Or was I always just a substitution for McBain?"

Natalie felt tears prick her eyes at his accusation, "Of course what we had was real. You have no clue how your being in that basement with me saved me," she paused and gathered her thoughts.

"There is a part of me that will always love you, Jared. But you don't know what I've been through these last four years to get to where I am now. And now includes two children with John. I don't want to hurt you, but John is who I want to be with-and who I always will want to be with," she said as she stood up and felt her legs shake a bit. "I'll get with Tea on drawing up the divorce papers. You should have them by the end of the week."

Walking out of the coffee shop she paused a moment to think what to do next. She had a bit of time before meeting Jessica for lunch and thought about going to see John. He'd probably see through her random dropping in like this, but at the moment she didn't care.

Hearing Jared calling for her and his footsteps behind her she sighed and turned to give him a piece of her mind, but then suddenly the world started spinning before going dark.

* * *

John answered his phone without looking at the ID, "McBain."

"John-it's Viki."

"Yes-uhm, hi," he said. He was always nervous about how to address her. She always said to call her Viki, but for so long he always put a Mrs. in front of her last name that he was still getting used to it.

Viki chuckled at John's frustration, "I was wondering if you'd heard from Natalie today?"

"No-she was off today. I told her that there weren't any big cases so to take a day to relax. She's been stressed out with this Jared stuff."

"Yes, we spoke of it earlier when she dropped Riley off. She had lunch plans with Jessica, but she just called me, and Natalie never showed up. When I call Natalie's phone it just rings. We were hoping she got called into a case."

John felt a ball of nerves hit his stomach, something wasn't right-she wouldn't have missed a lunch date with her sister unless something serious happened, and she would have told him as well, "Let me see what I can do. Do you have enough milk for Riley? I can run to the house and get more of the pumped stuff."

Viki smiled inwardly at his thoughtfulness, "Natalie's been bringing some extra here so we are fine for the rest of today. Something just seems off."

"Let me try and track her down, I'll call you as soon as I hear from her," he said and hung up the phone. It was probably nothing-she was probably just giving herself some well-deserved time off, but something was already telling him that wasn't the case.

* * *

John got out of the car and looked around the empty parking lot-a place like the Minute Man Motel wasn't known for having a lot of guests during the day-it was a place used more at night where names and ID weren't checked.

He remembered coming here years ago-mad at the world for teasing a family right in front of him and snatching it back. Of all the places for Fish to ping her phone to.

"You ok, John?" asked Price who had been told by Bo to go with John when they had a location on her phone.

"Yeah, just trying to figure out what the hell is going on here," he said as he slammed the door shut and walked towards the building.

"You want to get the manager to let us in?"

"Hold on," he said as he pulled out his phone and listened for the ringing. Hearing it coming from one of the furthest rooms he looked at Theo and nodded for him to go get the manager.

* * *

"What are your thoughts?" asked Bo as he stood in the breezeway of the hotel while the forensic team swept the room.

"I'm really not sure," replied John as he wiped his face. This morning everything seemed perfect-he had woken up next to his wife and he had a sinking feeling that wasn't going to be happening tonight.

"I'm sure this is just some sort of misunderstanding. She's going to show up any minute now," spoke Bo as he got a look from his friend. Seeing Fish walking towards them holding something he let out a breath, "What did you find?"

"This was found in a trash can around the corner. Looks like a burner to me," he said as he handed over the phone.

"Let's see who our mystery person called," he said as he flipped it open and saw Natalie's number as the last one dialed. It was the number before that which he recognized in the back of his mind as being familiar. Taking his phone out he dialed the number and pressed send.

_Hi you've reached Marty Saybrooke-_

John hung up as the voicemail continued on and looked at the three men waiting for an answer on who it was, "Someone needs to have Marty brought in for questioning, and let Nora know to be prepared to bring up the old charges. Along with whatever else she's done to Natalie."


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: When I posted the previous chapter I never thought it would be this long before I posted the next chapter. Life has very much got in the way-but I figured we all needed a little distraction and was able to figure out the next bit. Until next time-stay safe-PCGirl.

* * *

Bo pulled John back before they went into the interrogation room, "John, why don't you let me handle this?"

John chuckled as he shook his head, "No. She knows where my wife is and I want to know. I shouldn't have agreed to the damn stipulations to begin with. If I hadn't then Natalie wouldn't be in danger."

Bo nodded, already having had this same conversation with Nora who was kicking herself for not going forward with the charges from before, "Remember there is a third person involved-whoever is the owner of that phone got both Natalie and Marty to that hotel room."

"I already have my theory-let's see if it's right," he said he opened the door and went in to see Marty sitting there quietly.

"John-what's going on?" asked Marty at seeing him coming in.

"I need you to tell me what Natalie was doing at the Minute Man earlier today?"

Marty laughed, "Why do you think I would know why she was there? You know-her husband is back in town. Maybe she decided to reconsummate her marriage-we both know she's never been faithful to you."

"Real funny. I thought you had been enjoying your freedom, but apparently you'd rather be in a nine by five room instead. I'll call Statesville and get it ready for you," he said as he turned towards the door.

"Why is Natalie the only one you have blinders for?"

"Because she's the only one I've ever loved," he said, not turning back to face her.

Bo decided to step in just then, "Marty-we have a burner phone found in a trash can at the Minute Man. The only dialed numbers were yours and Natalie's. Why don't you start telling us the truth?"

"It was Jared, ok?" she said as she pushed off the table. "He reached out to me a week ago to try and find out some information he thought I would have."

"And what was that?" asked John as he turned around, leaning against the door as he tried to connect the dots between the three.

"He wanted Tricia to come back out."

The two men both looked at each other just then and let out a breath, "And why would he want that? How would he know about Tricia in the first place?" questioned Bo.

"Because he thinks he has a chance with Tricia. Roxy told him that Tricia loved him and that if she was still around he would have a chance with Natalie. He saw the opportunity and he took it. That's what con's do-they see an opportunity and take it. And we all know how much of a con he's always been."

"And you helped him-as a psychiatrist you figured out a way to break her?" said John quietly, his anger seething inside that Natalie was hurt and completely under the control of another persona right now.

"Yes."

"One last question-did he threaten you?"

"Who? Jared? No."

"So, you made the decision to harm Natalie? Hurt her children by taking her away from them for God knows how long?"

"Yes."

"That's all I need to know," said John as he walked out of the room and headed to see Nora and find out what the charges would be.

* * *

"McBain."

John had just entered the squad room from talking with Nora when he ran into an angry Patrick Thornhart. The two hadn't had much interaction since him and Marty had decided to return to Llanview and he really wasn't feeling like having one now.

"What can I do for you, Thornhart?" he asked, trying to keep his own anger in check.

"Why the hell is my wife down in holding right now? We had an agreement."

"She's in holding for practicing without a license, and also practicing which led to harm to her patient. That patient just happens to be my wife. So, that stupid agreement that myself and Nora went along with? It's null and void-the previous charges will be reinstated shortly."

"What? How?" he asked, running his hands through his dark brown hair.

"She went along with some plan that Jared Banks cooked up and was able to make Natalie's DID alter come back out. So, from where I'm standing your wife caused harm to mine-which cancels out the verbal agreement of her throwing her off a building. Plus kidnapping my child and stabbing another woman in my hotel room and leaving her for dead. Any questions?"

Patrick shook his head and rubbed his face, "Can I see her?"

"Go for it-I sure as hell don't want to see her again," shrugged John as he walked away and went to his office, closing the door behind him.

Sitting in his office chair he looked at the photo and allowed his anger turn into fear-he wasn't sure where Natalie physically was at the moment, but he knew she was alone, in the recesses of her own mind while her alter took control of her life.

* * *

Tricia splashed water on her face and looked up at the dingy mirror of the gas station bathroom.

"Tricia?" she heard and looked up to see Natalie's face in the mirror.

"Yeah," she said softly, still unsure how to feel about this. Jared was alive, she was ecstatic about that-knew he loved her and would protect her, but the way she came out this time-it was harsh and so unexpected she felt uneasy on her feet. And then to come face to face with Marty Saybrook-it was almost too much. She shook her head-she just had to get her bearings and she'd be ok.

"Are you ok?"

"Yes, I'm fine," she snapped.

"No, you aren't-we aren't. I can feel it too-we need to get to Dr Jamison."

"No, I'm not doing that again."

"What about Liam and Riley? I know you love them. I know you don't want them to feel abandoned by me-us."

"They have their dad-they'll be fine."

"John loves us, Tricia. Both of us."

"No, he doesn't. If he had then how the hell was Marty Saybrook allowed to get near us and make me come out?" she spoke with a growl.

"Then let's go find him and you can ask him yourself."

She shook her head vehemently and stared back at her reflection. "No. You may see John as your husband, but Jared is _mine. _ He's the one I will always choose," she finished as she turned and walked out of the door and smiled at the man waiting there.

"You ok, Sparky? I thought I heard you talking in there."

"Yeah, just a bit of a headache," she said as she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to push Natalie's words out of her mind.

"We can grab something, but we need to keep moving, ok?" he said as he rubbed the back of her neck.

"Yeah, of course," she said as she leaned into him and tried to smile. As she settled herself into the car, she closed her eyes-continually reminding herself that she could trust Jared. He'd protected her before in the basement of Llanfair and would still do it.

* * *

John stood at the doors to Llanfair and thought about all the other times he'd stood here. After Las Vegas. Coming to see Natalie while she was a suspect in Cramer's death. After nearly getting herself raped by George to help him. Coming to see her while she was pregnant with Liam and making the quick decision to propose right then and there.

This time was different-this time he knew she wasn't safe inside her mother's home. He wasn't exactly sure where she was and that was what bothered him the most. Ringing the doorbell, he took a breath and nodded as Jessica opened the door while holding Riley.

Jessica felt her heart drop as she saw John standing there. He was always so hard to read, except for when it came to Natalie. She was his Achilles heel. "Please tell me you found her."

John just shook his head as he took Riley out of her arms and smiled down at her. He'd been working like crazy for the last few hours-trying to come up with any lead that might tell him where Jared and Tricia were. Bo had ordered him to come pick up the kids and be a parent for the night. Try and keep some sort of normalcy to their schedule, when in reality there was nothing normal about this.

"Are your parents here?"

"Dad's still at the office-mom's in here," she said as they walked into the library.

John swallowed as he took a seat and let out a breath. As he spoke, he realized he couldn't look the two women in the eye and kept his connected with his daughter's, "We found Natalie's phone and purse at the Minute Man. Her car was found in the Heavenly Grounds parking lot which is where her credit card was used last. After some investigating we realized that someone had contacted her as well as Marty Saybrook."

"Marty?" questioned Jessica as she listened to how robotic and professional John was trying to be. How hard this must be for him to describe his wife and mother of his children as just another case.

He nodded, finally able to look up, "We brought her in for questioning and she admitted that Jared had requested of her to bring Tricia back out."

"Oh god," said Viki and put her hand to her chest, remembering when Rae had accidently let Niki out before. But knowing also that this was no accident. "And she was able to?" she asked as Jessica grabbed her free hand.

"Apparently so. I didn't stay for the whole interview-Bo was there for the whole thing," he said, leaving out how he hadn't been able to bring himself to listen to the recording yet.

"Why would Jared put her through this? I always thought he loved her," asked Jessica as she looked at her mom who was still trying to process this all.

"I think he still does. But I guess he thinks that if there's a chance that he can still have the life he dreamed of with Tricia instead of Natalie then it's better than nothing," responded John, noting how quiet Viki was as well. "Are you ok, Viki?"

She smiled at him actually calling her by her first name for once, "Yes, thank you, John. Do we know how he found out about Tricia in the first place?"

"We were so tight lipped about it when it happened because we didn't want it to get back to you. I'm still not sure Starr and Todd know it happened before," added Jessica.

"Apparently Rox blabbed it to Banks about how much she loved him and hated me. You know, a part of me wished I'd been there the first time. That I could have talked to Tricia before. I just never expected to actually get the opportunity."

"I'm going to give you this advice to hold onto until you see her-while they are two separate people it's all our Natalie. And some of the best parts of Natalie come from Tricia. Make sure to point that out to Tricia-make sure she knows that what is best for everyone is for Natalie to be whole again."


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Another day-another update. Woo hoo! Hope everyone is staying safe and healthy through all this. Was able to finish the last bit of this chapter so you could have a few minutes of distraction from everything else. Unitl next time-ya'll are the best-PCGirl.

* * *

_She knew she was dreaming. Mainly because she was sitting at a corner table in the Winking Pussy Cat, her back to the wall so she could see everything and be aware of her surroundings. The sounds, lights, and smells were too real. How could after all this time she still conjure it all up so easily? She wanted to wake up. She closed her eyes tightly to try and force herself awake._

_"Hello," said a deep voice and she looked up to see an older man standing over her. No-this wasn't going to happen. It never did when Natalie was younger and it surely as hell wasn't going to happen now._

_"What's a young thing like you doing in a place like this? Is your mom one of the dancers?" he asked with a creepy smile._

_"Get lost," she said through gritted teeth as she tried to force herself awake again. Had this actually happened? Had she blocked this memory out and suddenly it was coming to the surface?_

_"Now, why would I do a thing like that?" he said as he sat down next to her, his hand reaching to push her hair back off her neck._

_"I believe she said to get lost," said the raspy voice from behind him. The man beside her seemed almost larger than life and blocked her view of the other man, but she didn't need to see him to know that voice. _

_"Excuse me-we're having a nice little chat. Right, sweetie?" said the man as his head went between the two._

_"No, you aren't," he replied as she watched John McBain grab the man by the collar and toss him out of the chair. "Are you ok?"_

_"Why did you do that?"_

_He gave a slight chuckle at the question, "Because you needed protecting-that's what I've always done, Natalie. Protected you."_

"No!" shouted Tricia and sat up in the bed.

"Hey-hey," said Jared quietly as she sat up and rubbed her back. "It's ok-I'm here."

She gave a slight smile as she got her breathing back under control, "I know. It was just a dream."

"You want to talk about it?"

She shook her head, she didn't want to relive that scene or tell Jared that in it John was the one that rescued her, "No. I'm ok. What are the plans for today?" They had been on the move for a week and it felt like they were going achingly slow. It was easier to go on the run when it was just one person. Plus, she had more of a head start before and an unknown vehicle to get away in.

"I got in contact with an old buddy of mine-he lives nearby and can get us some false documents to get us across the border. It'd probably be best if you stayed put-will you be ok?"

"Yeah, of course. It makes complete sense," she said with a weak smile, though inside she hated the thought of being alone at the moment.

"Good. I shouldn't be long," he said as he kissed her forehead and started to get ready for the meeting.

* * *

"Hey sweetheart," said John with a soft voice as he picked up a fussing Riley from her swing that he had settled her in while he tried to clean up some. "I know-I know, I miss her too," he said as he bounced her and began walking from her room and down the hall to his.

It had been almost a week since Natalie had gone missing and he was beside himself on what to do. Jessica would pick up Liam to take him preschool each morning, like she already had this morning, and then he would drop Riley off with either Viki or Roxy so he could focus on trying to bring Natalie home.

He remembered before when Hayes had taken her-how he hadn't allowed himself to eat or sleep-just focused on bringing her back home to her loved ones. But this time that included their kids and he knew that part of his focus needed to be on them.

Hearing the doorbell ring he was surprised, "Who could that be?" he asked and watched as his daughter gave a slight smile.

Whoever it was then began to annoyingly push it without end as he hurried his pace down the stairs. "I'm coming," yelled John as he came around the corner and smiled at who was on the other side, "Hey bro," he said as he gave him a handshake and a pat on the back.

"Hey, Johnny. And hello to my favorite niece," said Michael as he scooped Riley out of his arms and started making noises at her.

John paused a moment and took in his brother doting on her, forgoing the quip that she was his only niece, before talking, "What are you doing here, Mike?"

"Well, you know how us McBain's never take a vacation? I had all this time built up and I figured I could take a couple days and come out here and see how everyone was doing. Plus-you know-I have to make sure they both think of Uncle Mike has their favorite uncle instead of Balsom. Where's Liam?"

"Jess already picked him up to take him and Ryder to preschool. Who told you?" he asked, the question of what he was talking about left open.

"Rex. And we all know you won't ask for help-surprised that you let Jess take Liam this morning. How are you doing?" he questioned as he made his way to the couch and sat down.

"I miss my wife. I miss waking up with her in the morning-seeing her throughout the day at work. I worry that she's scared-that I'm not going to be able to get through Tricia to her. That Banks has taken her to God knows where to start this supposed perfect new life they've always dreamed of."

"You know where they are yet?"

"No," he said as he shook his head. "We've got a state-wide BOLO out for them. We're not sure if they are hiding low waiting for this to blow over-but it never is. I've never given up on Natalie before-I'm not starting now."

"That's why I'm here. Go get a shower and then go do what you do best-protect Natalie. I have been known to handle an infant a few times," he grinned.

"Yeah-of course. Thanks, Mike," he said as he went upstairs to get ready for the day. As he made his way into the closet, he heard his phone ring on the dresser and wanted to ignore it but looking down he saw Bo's number on the other end.

"Hey-do you have something?" he answered, his heartrate increasing at just the words.

"We sent out a blind notice to the hospitality industry in the area with Jared's picture and if he showed up to contact us. I just got a call from a B&B near Corinth. They checked in last night-said that Jared had just left a few minutes ago and they believe Tricia stayed back. Is Riley still with you?"

"Yeah, but Mike just showed up," he said as he slipped on his boots and took a whiff of a shirt before throwing it on and raced down the stairs.

"Good. I called Jessica to come get her, but I'll send her a message to scratch that."

"Thanks Bo," he said as he made his way to the bottom of the stairs and wasn't exactly sure what to say to his brother.

"They found her?" asked Michael, knowing the answer immediately by the look on his brother's face.

"Yeah. Near Corinth," he said as he walked over and took Riley from his brother for a moment. "I'm bringing Mama home, sweetheart," he said as he gave her a kiss on the forehead and just held her for a moment before heading out the door.

* * *

Jared hurried up the stairs of the hotel-the visit with his contact had taken much longer than planned but they were set. Identification and passports for Mr and Mrs Emory Craig in his pocket. He was worried about leaving Tricia alone for so long, unsure how this all worked and thought that the longer she was alone the more chance something would happen.

He reached the door when he heard footsteps and looked over to see John McBain walking towards him.

"Never saw you as the B&B type," spoke John. "But then-I never saw you the type to actually hurt Natalie the way you have."

"You ever think she changed her mind? That she realized she wanted to be with her husband and not you?"

"She didn't-and she doesn't want to."

"Maybe you should ask her yourself instead of throwing unfounded accusations at me," he said and opened the door to their room to find it empty.

"Lose something, Banks," asked John with a smirk as he leaned on the doorway while Jared checked around to make sure she wasn't in the bathroom.

"Where is she? Where is my wife?" he yelled as he got in John's face.

"In the recess of her own mind, thanks to you. And I suggest you back off," he said and pushed Jared into the room and closed the door for privacy.

Price and Fish had gotten here before John did-tried to reason with Tricia over coming peacefully before finally having to sedate her to get her in the car and back to Llanview and checked into St Anne's. He hated the thought of that being done to her-remembered doing it to her after Vegas-but it was necessary then, and it was necessary now. They wanted her long gone by the time Jared showed back up.

"You don't know what you are talking about."

"I don't?" he asked with a raised eyebrow and walked past Jared and studying the carvings on the four-poster bed before speaking again. "I know my children are missing their mom-I know my son has asked me every night for nearly a week if mommy will be home when he wakes up. I know Natalie would never abandon them.

"I also know I have witnesses who saw you two talking at the coffee shop and one who believes she saw you put something in the drink you handed Natalie. And then there's the security camera that shows you walk up behind her after she left and just happen to catch her as she passed out. Would you like me to continue or should I read off Marty's statement as to what happened at the Minute Man?" he paused.

Jared shook his head, "No, sounds like you've got it all figured out, huh, McBain? And once again I'm the bad guy."

John let a roar of laughter come out of his mouth, "Well, that would be because you are. Do you not see what you've done? You've taken this woman who we both love and split her in two. Not because she was under stress and couldn't handle it-or because of fear of someone. But because you are selfish and can't take no for an answer. Natalie told you no-told you who she wanted to be with, and you just can't handle it. So, you found a way to break her. Not just physically-but mentally. Do you get it yet, Jared? The woman you've been with this last week-"

"You mean the one I've made love to every night? And sometimes multiple times a day," he interrupted with a smirk.

It took everything John had in him to not throw Jared across the room at that comment. Taking a deep breath, he pulled out his handcuffs, ready to end this conversation before he did something he couldn't take back, "That's not her-not completely. She may look like her, smell like her, feel like her. But it's not her. And that's because of you."


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: This first scene I struggled with for a long time-the second one has been written for months. Hopefully now that we are over that hump we can get this story finished up. Until next time-PCGirl.

* * *

Jessica walked into the room and her eyes began to water at seeing her sister there, lying in the bed with her arms strapped down like she was a danger to others. She remembered before-when it was her in that bed after Chloe had been born. This was all so unfair-Natalie and Tricia should never have been put in this situation, they had been so sure before that once the integration was complete they might never see the two separated again.

Walking over she began to undo the buckles on the arms without saying a word.

"Why are you doing that?" asked the quiet voice and she looked to see Tricia's eyes were open, but the fight that she'd once seen at the ranch was gone.

"Because you are not a danger to anyone. Not like me-or Tess," she said quietly as she finished one arm and walked around to the other side to loosen the strap there. "How are you feeling?"

"You should know how I'm feeling. I mean this isn't much different than Nash and Antonio, is it?"

Jessica paused, realizing what Tricia was getting at, "I suppose so, but you and Natalie have to make that choice together. That was where I went wrong. I tried to fight what Tess wanted-tried to pretend I didn't have the feelings I did for Nash."

"You really think Natalie is going to choose Jared after this?" she asked with a raised eyebrow and Jessica wanted to almost smile at seeing Tricia beginning to act like herself.

"She's forgiven me for a lot worse-including nearly killing her. You don't know what her thoughts are unless you go through with this."

"This? You mean the integration?"

"It's more than just the integration," she said as she sat down on the edge of the bed and was surprised when Tricia let her hold her hand. "It's healing, Tricia. How you came out this time caused a lot of trauma. Not just for Natalie, but you as well. You both are going to have to work through that before the integration can happen. That means at some point you will have to give up control to Natalie."

"I know," she said quietly for a moment. "Do you know where Jared is?"

"No, I don't," she said quietly, hoping Tricia didn't pick up on the lie. "I'm going to go tell the doctors I undid your straps because you are not a danger to yourself or anyone else. I'll see what I can find out about Jared," she said as she got up and left the room.

Tricia didn't say anything else as Jessica left. Rubbing her wrists, she knew Jessica was lying about where Jared was. And she was also pretty sure that the next person to walk in that door was not going to be Jared.

* * *

As John walked towards her room his mind went back to when Natalie explained what had happened before-and he hoped that maybe he could get through to Tricia and have her agree to integration again.

_ "Can I ask you a question?" asked John as they sat on the couch alone, having put Liam down for the night a while ago._

_"Sure," she said, feeling nervous about his question._

_"What was it like? The integration and all?"_

_Natalie thought for a moment, trying to articulate the whole experience, "The first session he had me think of a moment in time-a moment where I felt fully in control and to hold onto that."_

_"What did you pick?" he asked as he tried to come up with his own moment and his mind landed onto them bringing Liam home from Michigan. He had a son after all, and though their stubbornness kept it from happening for a couple months longer than he had liked, he got to have a family with Natalie._

_"Bringing Liam home from the hospital," she smiled. "Even though I was still holding the paternity secret it was still this perfect moment in time. So, I would hold onto that memory and allow Tricia to come out. She would have conversations with Dr Jamison and then him and I would have conversations about it afterwards. Once she talked with Roxy about what happened to cause her to exist and another time she talked to Jessica about what happened in the basement."_

_"And the actual integration?"_

_"It was weird-I was able to take this partial step back and speak with Tricia. We talked about Liam. How he needed his mom and he needed her whole. She loved him-she wanted to protect that little boy."_

_John smiled, "I'm glad she listened and cared enough about him to agree to this."_

Opening the door he saw her sitting there in a chair by the window-not reacting to the door opening or his steps across the floor as he came closer, "Tricia," he said softly, hoping she would finally acknowledge him.

"Why are you here?" she asked, her voice laced with an anger that he wasn't used to hearing from Natalie.

"To tell you I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For not protecting you from Jared."

"I don't need protecting from my husband, John. The person I did need protecting from was Marty Saybrooke-and you failed at that. How the hell was she allowed to be free after what she did to us?"

"You're right-she shouldn't have been. The second she walked into that police station she should have been arrested and arraigned on two counts of attempted murder. But Jared didn't protect you from her either, did he? He just handed Natalie over to her-to force you to come out when you weren't needed."

"I'm not needed?" she asked with a raised eyebrow and hurt in her voice.

John mentally cursed at his use of words, "You will always be needed, Tricia. But your coming out this time was not of your own choosing because Natalie needed protection. It was because Banks is selfish and thinks by you being here that somehow he's getting his happily ever after with Natalie. But he's not."

"Because you are going to force Natalie and I to reintegrate."

"I want you to be whole, Tricia. I want you to be safe and be loved."

"With Jared we are."

"Safe-perhaps," he said with a shrug. "But if he truly loved you would he put you through this-make you split when everything is going right in your life? I don't know what that is, but it sure as hell isn't love."

"He does too love me," she yelled, and he took note of how her eyes were burning with rage at him right now. John couldn't help but give her a smirk, Jessica had been right earlier. Because there she was, the woman he would always go toe to toe with any day of the week.

"He loves someone, yes, but it's his wife," he said and saw her opening her mouth and held up a finger to finish. "Jared doesn't understand what parts of Natalie come from you."

"And you do?" she asked with a laugh.

"I know you are the reason she loves mustard on her fries. And it was your strength and bravery that saved you both until I could rescue you from that pit. Thank you for that," he said as he reached over and pushed that damn lock of her hair out of her face, feeling a calmness at her allowing him to touch her.

"You are also the reason Natalie can walk into a crime scene and take it all in within minutes. I wonder-if the girl that sat in the bar watching for predators also watched some of the better pool players and that's how you became so good at the game," he said and watched a look go over her face. "What is it, Tricia?"

"You. You said you."

"Because that is a part of Natalie just as much as it is you. And another thing you share is your love for your children. Natalie's told me how much you cared for Liam when you came out before. He's missing his mom right now. And Riley needs her mom too-and that's both of you. I know you love them, Tricia."

"What about you? Who is it you love?" she asked as tears began to fall.

John took a deep breath as he placed his hands on each side of her face and wiped away the tears with his thumbs, "I love all of you-both," he said as he pressed his lips to hers and felt her begin to kiss him back. When she stopped he pressed their foreheads together and got his breathing under control.

"John."

He heard the softness in her voice and felt tears come to his eyes-hoping this wasn't a trick, "Yeah?"

"Look at me," she said, with a stronger tone to her voice.

Pulling back, he looked at her and smiled. He could never explain how he knew he wasn't looking at Tricia anymore-he just knew, "Natalie?"

She couldn't speak, just put her hands over his and nodded. "It's me. She-she wants to see Jared, but I think it's over."

"Is that safe though?"

"Dr Jamison will make it safe. She's choosing us John-she's choosing our family. You, me, Liam, and Riley."

John let out a deep breath and taking Natalie into his arms he held her tightly. Nodding he kissed the top of her hair and let out a reassuring sigh, "Ok. Whatever it takes."


End file.
